Amateur-built DHC-2 accident near Chackachatna Ri, Alaska, August 9, 1987
On August 9, 1987 at about 5:30 pm local time, a amateur-built DHC-2, registered N31522, was substantially damaged in an accident near Chackachatna Ri, Alaska. It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 9, 1987 · about 5:30 pm local time · cases in 1987
- Place
- Chackachatna Ri, Alaska
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built DHC-2
- Registration
- N31522 · registry record · serial 535
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PILOT STATED AFTER HE TOUCHED DOWN ON THE GRAVEL BAR HE LOST DIRECTIONAL CONTROL OF THE AIRCRAFT CAUSING THE AIRCRAFT TO STRIKE A LOG. THE AIRPLANE THEN WENT UP ON ITS NOSE.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 5,300 hours in all; 1,040 in this make and model; 295 in the last 90 days; 120 in the last 30 days; 4,970 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 10,000 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, July 10, 1987; 22 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,100 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W R-985-39B (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: ENA Kenai AK at 2:30 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 90 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 55°F (13°C), dew point 39°F (4°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 9:30 am
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N31522 on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Engine: P&W R-985-39B 1,593 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Kenai Municipal · departed from
- Accidents and incidents in Alaska 5,932 since 1982 · 825 in the last ten years
- Alaska 9,142 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/ANC87LA120.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.